Details:

Alternative Title:
BMC Musculoskelet Disord
Personal Author:
Qin, Jin ; Kurowski, Alicia ; Gore, Rebecca ; Punnett, Laura
Qin, Jin ; Kurowski, Alicia ; Gore, Rebecca ; Punnett, Laura Less -
Description:
Background

Injuries reported to workers’ compensation (WC) system are often used to estimate incidence of health outcomes and evaluate interventions in musculoskeletal epidemiology studies. However, WC claims represent a relatively small subset of all musculoskeletal disorders among employed individuals, and perhaps not a representative subset. This study determined the influence of workplace and individual factors on filing of workers’ compensation claims by nursing home employees with back pain.

Methods

Surveys were conducted in 18 skilled nursing facilities in four U.S. states. Self-administered questionnaires obtained information on demographic characteristics, working environment, and health behaviors/status. Employees who reported low back pain at least once in four questionnaire surveys were included. WC claims from the same facilities were obtained from the employer’s workers compensation insurer and matched by employee name. The dichotomous dependent variable was filing of back-related worker’s compensation claim. Association with predictors of interest, including pain severity, physical job demand, job strain, social support, schedule control, and safety climate, was assessed using multivariate regression modeling. Individual characteristics were tested as potential confounders.

Results

Pain severity level was significantly associated with filing low-back related claims (odds ratio (OR) = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.18 – 1.87). Higher physical demands at work (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01 – 1.14) also increased the likelihood of claim filing. Higher job strain (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.73 – 0.94), social support at work (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.82 – 0.99), and education (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.71 – 0.89) decreased the likelihood of claim filing.

Conclusions

The results suggest that the WC system captured the most severe occupational injuries. Workplace factors had additional influence on workers’ decision to file claims, after adjusting for low back pain severity. Education was correlated with worker’s socioeconomic status; its influence on claim filing is difficult to interpret because of the possible mixed effects of working conditions, self-efficacy, and content knowledge.


Subjects:
[+]
Adult Back Pain Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) Female Health Personnel Humans Male Middle Aged Multivariate Analysis Occupational Injuries Odds Ratio Pain Measurement Questionnaires Research Article Risk Factors Severity Of Illness Index Skilled Nursing Facilities Time Factors Workers' Compensation Workplace
Source:
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2014; 15:29.
Pubmed ID:
24476529
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC3912896
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
1 U19OH008857/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States
Place as Subject:
United States
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:e817959d39c7d970318b9c37a7c1825d29207537cf133a42562978180010fc4a
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/22504/cdc_22504_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

• 	1471-2474-15-29-1.gif	gif
  	1471-2474-15-29-1.jpg	jpeg
  	1471-2474-15-29.nxml	txt
  	license.txt	txt

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